History Detectives

This series explores the stories behind historic sites, artifacts and tall tales told in cities across the country, with the help of an inquisitive team of fact-finders with an uncanny talent for uncovering the truth.

Upcoming Broadcasts:

* Bonnie & Clyde - Could bullets owned by a woman in Brodhead, Wisconsin, be responsible for the demise of the notorious Bonnie Parker and Clyde Barrow? HD travels to key cities throughout the country in an attempt to link the bullets to the murderous twosome. Along the way, they chat with various experts and run extensive ballistics tests. Are these really the bullets that ended one of the most infamous crime sprees in American history? * Revolutionary War Poem - HD goes to Salem, Oregon, to look into the story of a Revolutionary War poem found 25 years ago hidden in an antique trunk. The document appears to have been written by an American named Dan Goodhue while imprisoned in 1780 as a POW in England. Who was this man and how did his poem travel for over two centuries, across the sea and nation, to end up in Oregon? * Portrait of George Washington - Could a portrait passed down through a Frederick, Maryland, family actually be an authentic portrait of the nation's first president, George Washington? That is the charge for HD in this fascinating story. The investigators attempt to prove whether or not the famed artist Gilbert Stuart, whose resume includes the portrait of Washington that appears on today's dollar bill, was the artist behind the drawing in question. Might this drawing prove to be a national treasure?

Upcoming Broadcasts:

* Lost Gold Ship - Environmentalist Gabriel Scott was working in the Copper River Delta near Cordova, Alaska, when he came across the wreckage of an old ship. According to locals, these are the remains of the SS Portland, the famous steamship that carried 68 miners and nearly two tons of gold from the Klondike River to Seattle harbor and began the great Klondike Gold Rush of 1897. Could the stories be true? To find out, Elyse Luray joins a team of experts in Alaska to investigate the wreck. Mixing maritime history and forensic science, the team reveals the dramatic story of the SS Portland and confirms whether Scott has found the remains of this legendary ship. * John Hunt Morgan Saddle - A man in Paris, Kentucky, owns a beautifully preserved Western-style saddle, believed to have been used by the Confederate general, John Hunt Morgan, on his famous raid into Kentucky, Indiana and Ohio in July 1863. Could this be a relic from one of the most audacious attacks launched by the South during the Civil War? Wes Cowan is on the case and reveals a surprising personal connection: Wes' great-grandfather was actually one of "Morgan's Raiders" and was captured alongside Morgan during the historic raid. * Cesar Chavez Banner - A San Francisco woman has heard about a beautiful old banner owned by a local archive that, rumor has it, was carried at the head of the famous Delano Grape Boycott march led by Cesar Chavez in 1966. The banner features a painted Virgin of Guadalupe and a Union of Farm Workers Eagle, but its original ownership is a mystery. The contributor wants to know what role this banner may have played in Chavez' campaign to pursue better living conditions and rights for Mexican-American farm workers. HD travels to the West Coast to investigate the importance of art in one of the most famous civil rights campaigns in U.S. history.

Upcoming Broadcasts:

* Pretty Boy Floyd Handgun - A man in La Verne, California, owns a vintage Colt automatic handgun, which family legend suggests once belonged to the Depression-era desperado, Charles "Pretty Boy" Floyd. According to the legend, Floyd gave the gun to the contributor's uncle who had served as the lookout for "Pretty Boy." To find out if the story behind the gun is true, Wes Cowan travels to California, Oklahoma and Missouri. In the process, he discovers why gangsters became heroes to the rural population of the Midwest and reveals the true story behind the dramatic rise and fall of a man who ranks alongside Bonnie and Clyde and John Dillinger as one of the most colorful bank robbers in American history. * Paul Cuffee Muster Roll - A Las Vegas man owns an old Continental Armymuster roll issued by the town of Falmouth, Massachusetts, in July 1780. Among the 16 men listed is "Paul Cuffee." The contributor wants to know if this could be evidence of an unknown episode in the life of Cuffee, a remarkable African American who was a whaling captain, shipbuilder and early advocate of the "Back to Africa" movement. HD uncovers a dramatic story of African-American achievement in the years surrounding the Revolutionary War. * Pop Lloyd Baseball Field - Why was a baseball field in Atlantic City, New Jersey, named after an African-American ballplayer in a time of intense racial tension? HD goes to the park to unearth the explanation. John Henry "Pop" Lloyd was one of the greatest athletes of his time. A famed shortstop in the Negro Leagues throughout the first three decades of the 20th century, Pop was honored with a field in his name in 1949. What was the reasoning that led to this unlikely honor in a time of blatant prejudice and racial division?

Upcoming Broadcasts:

* Charlie Parker Saxophone - A woman in Oakland, California, owns a beautiful old alto saxophone that belonged to her father and according to family legend was once owned by the legendary jazz musician Charlie "Bird" Parker. Her late father, a white musician, told her that when they lived in Portland, Oregon, Charlie Parker came to a practice session without his horn. The story goes that when her father chided Parker for selling his instrument, Bird said, "If you want the horn so much, here's the pawn ticket." But is the story true? Did these two musicians ever meet? Would Charlie Parker abandon his horn? HD investigates an original American art form and the life of a troubled musical genius. * Prison Plaque - In the heart of Philadelphia stands the abandoned Eastern State Penitentiary building. Founded by Quakers in 1829, this castle-like structure set new standards for prisons across the country with its progressive ideas for rehabilitation. Recently, a group in charge of preserving this historic structure found a strange plaque discarded in a pile of rubbish. Dusting it off, they found an intriguing inscription: "In the everlasting memory of the inmates of Eastern State Penitentiary who served in World War I." Even more intriguing is that fact that they are listed not by name, but by their prison numbers. From what they know, convicted felons were prohibited from enlisting or being drafted to fight in the war. Is this an example of the prison's progressive take on prisoner reform? Or is this a sign of desperate recruiting measures for the "war to end all wars," when even prisoners are being sent into battle? Tukufu Zuberi and Wes Cowan are on the case to get to the bottom of this mystery. * Koranic School Book - A viewer in Mulvane, Kansas, owns a 200-year-old schoolbook with a startling secret. The book belonged to a young woman from Kentucky in 1800, but contains two translated passages of the Koran. What are they doing there? And how did this frontier farmer learn about Islam? Taking on this tough challenge, the detectives reach some startling conclusions about U.S. contact with the Muslim world and the story of Islam in America.

Upcoming Broadcasts:

* Body in the Basement - While on a dig, "The Lost Towns of Anne Arundel County" Project unearthed a rather surprising discovery. Since 1991, this group of anthropologists has been studying a 17th-century settlement in Maryland that became the modern capital of Annapolis. While at work excavating a dwelling, the team uncovered a grizzly mystery: a skeleton in the basement. Was this an executed POW from an English Civil War battle deposited in the cellar of the house? Or maybe the body of a young man, murdered for his inheritance? Corey Seznec grew up on the land where the body was found and wants to know who this person was who preceded him by 350 years. With the expertise of the Lost Towns Team and a Smithsonian forensic anthropologist, the History Detectives set out to determine the identity of the skeleton and find out why it was buried in the basement. * Newport U-Boat - Two Boston brothers have heard a rumor that two large propellers on the grounds of a hotel in Newport originally came from a German submarine that sank off the coast of Rhode Island at the end of WWII. The brothers are especially interested in the story because their father, who served in the Navy during the war, was killed when a U-boat sank his ship off the coast of Maine in 1945. The brothers want to know if the Newport propellers come from a submarine, and if so, whether or not they belong to the submarine that killed their father. HD travels to Rhode Island to investigate this case and discovers a remarkable story of cover-ups and conspiracies that could have changed the course of WWII. * Shippen Golf Club - A Scotch Plains, New Jersey, children's golf foundation recently received a surprising donation, an antique golf club. More significant than its age was the rumor that the original owner was John Shippen Jr., who competed in the 1896 U.S. Open at Long Island's Shinnecock Hills Golf Club. The match - the second ever in America - was almost canceled due to the inclusion of Shippen, an African American. Hanno Shippen Smith would like to know if it is possible that this club belonged to his grandfather and if it is indeed a rare relic from that pivotal day in the career of this remarkable man. History Detectives Elyse Luray and Gwen Wright take on the case and discover a story of racial prejudice and the determination of one man to ignore the obstacle of color in the sport that he loved.